Use Your Voice
by Daddysgirl11
Summary: Ally Dawson is mute, but only her best friend knows why. Austin Moon is a new boy that feels oddly intrigued by Ally, and genuinely wants to get to know everything about her, but that's a little hard when she won't talk to him...or anyone for that matter. Will Austin be able to get Ally to finally open up, or will she remain isolated through all his attempts?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! It's Daddysgirl11 here with a new story I'm co-writing with an amazingly awesome friend of mine! She wrote about 2/3 of this chapter, so to say I'm proud would be an understatement. She's an amazing writer! Hope you guys like it!**

**Ally's POV**

I'm really not trying to be rude, but I guess sometimes it seems that way. I don't mean for it to be like that, but it just is. I promise you, if you'd have been there, if you'd have seen what I saw, you would quit talking too.

At school I'm known as "the shy girl" or "are you new?" or "what's your name again?". The only person who really understands me is my best friend Trish. She's been there with me from the beginning and knows me better than anyone. She helps me out at my dad's music store, Sonic Boom, with answering customers, since I won't talk to them. Plus, she's the only one who knows my secret.

I mean, it doesn't take most people long to realize that I'm not going to answer them when they call my name or ask me a question. Most people can take a hint. But apparently not this guy. He's seriously been standing here for half an hour trying to ask me the price of an electric guitar in the back. Why can't he just look at the price tag? I've never seen him around, so he must be new. I'm just saying, someone needs to introduce to his hometown the fine invention of price tags.

Seriously, what is with this guy? Does he even have a brain under that mess of blonde hair? Will he ever give up and realize I'm not going to answer him? I finally get tired of it and ring the bell sitting on the counter. (That's how I get Trish to come over here when I need her.)

Trish shows up a moment later. "What do you need?" she asks. I point to the blonde guy. She has a confused look on her face, so I make a hand gesture to tell to this guy to explain his situation to Trish. He finally gets it.

"Why don't you just look at the price tag?" she asks. THANK YOU TRISH! I point a look at him that makes him all jittery and nervous. I think he's going to admit to not thinking it through, but instead he replies: "Some kid stuck his gum in it". "Okay," Trish replies, "come to the back with me and I'll check it out."

**Austin's POV**

My name's Austin Moon, and I just moved to Miami. I wanted to look around the city as soon as we got there, just so I'd be familiar with it a little before school starts Monday. I told my mom I was going to the mall, and just started walking there. I noticed on the ride to the new house that we only live about five to ten minutes away, so it shouldn't be far.

I walked in this super cool music store called Sonic Boom. I absolutely love music, so this has to be the coolest store I've ever been in!

I was just looking at all the guitars, admiring how amazing they all were, when I came across a killer electric guitar that I just had to buy. I noticed a small, brunette girl standing behind the counter, so I decided to go ask her if she knew the price of the guitar. When I got over there, I finally got a good look at her face. Man she's pretty! Okay, not why I'm here.

"Excuse me, do you know how much this guitar costs?", I asked her. She just looked at me with a blank expression, but never answered me. "You know, the price? Do you know how much the guitar costs?", I asked again. She was still just staring at me. I kept asking, and after about thirty minutes of her complete silence, she rings a bell that's sitting on the counter. Um, okay then.

After a few seconds, a short, curly haired Latina girl walks over to her. "What do you need?", she asked. The girl that I've been trying to get to speak to me for the last half an hour just points to me. The Latina girl looks about as confused as me right now. The girl sighs and gestures for me to explain my problem to the Latina. Seriously, why can't she just answer me?

"How much does this guitar cost?", I asked, turning to the Latina. She rolls her eyes and gives me an exasperated look. "Why don't you just look at the price tag?", she asked. The girl that still hasn't spoken sent me a pointed look, and I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. I really didn't want to admit to being so stupid, so I came up with the most idiotic excuse known to man. "Some kid stuck gum in it", I said.

"Okay, come back with me and I'll check it out", the Latina girl said. I gave her a confused look, but she just ignored it, grabbing my arm and pulling me up the stores to a room that said 'employees only'.

As soon as she dragged me into that room, I knew I never wanted to leave. Imagine any instrument you could ever think of, and it was in that room. I bet the chairs were even musical chairs!

The small Latino girl, who I realized name is Trish (I read her name tag), turned back to me and said "Wait here Blondie." She walked over to a computer in the corner of the room and started typing something on it. Whatever she was doing, it was taking forever.

I got so bored, I decided to buy some time. "So, what was with that girl back there? She acted like I wasn't even there!" I asked. Trish stopped typing and just sat there with her back to me for a few moments, not saying a word. I was going to just take it back and say "never mind", but she finally answered.

"She... doesn't really talk," she replied. "I haven't heard her speak in years." She then turned to me. "Don't take it personally, it's nothing about you. She's just had a rough life." "Oh..." is all I could say. Trish then turned back and started typing, but I could barely hear her mutter " And it's a shame too, she's the best singer in the world." I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear it, but now that I have, I think there might be hope.

"She is a singer too?!" I asked excitedly. Trish turned around again, but very quickly this time. "Was!" She replied. "But that is none of your business!" "Maybe it is!" I said, suddenly realizing that I can do something productive in my new town. "See, I'm a singer too! Maybe I can connect with her, get her to talk!" Trish just shook her head. "Sorry, I don't think so. She's not very open to people. No, there's no way." I was becoming desperate at this point. I guess that explains why I was literally on my knees at this point. "Please, let me try!" She rolled her eyes. "Fine! Whatever, just don't expect it to work." Then she just walked towards the doorway mumbling something about humoring the foolish. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. "Oh, and by the way," she said over her shoulder, "your guitar is $205.95." And just like that, I was alone in that room on my knees. It took me a second, but I finally realized I was supposed to follow her. I quickly got up and ran out, knocking a poster down on the way out.

**So, what'd you guys think? It would mean a lotto both of us if you would read, review, follow, and favorite this! ;P**

**God Bless you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**We don't own Austin & Ally**

**Ally's POV**

_Trish, please hurry_, I texted my best friend. She was running late for our shared shift at Sonic Boom, so I'm left all alone to deal with all the customers that I can't help. I'm pretty sure we won't be making any sells until she gets here.

I was just standing behind the counter, writing in my songbook like I usually do, when I noticed a shadows blocking my light. I looked up to see that blond dude from yesterday who wouldn't leave me alone. _Oh, not him again!_

"Hi! I'm back!", he says cheerfully. I just nod my head. Stupid boy, I can clearly tell that you're back! "Where's your friend?", he asked. I just shook my head, because I really don't know where Trish is, and I'm starting to get worried. "Oh, well I'm sure she'll be here soon", he said positively. How can he say that when he doesn't even know her?

It seems like he knows that I'm not going to say anything, but he keeps talking like I will. "So, do you go to Marino High?", he asked. I nodded confusedly. "No way! That's where I'm going to be going! I start Monday", he said. Great, now I have to deal with him at school too! "I'm assuming you're extra curricular is music?", he asked. My eyes widened, and my head snapped right up, looking at him in alert. "You know, because you work in a music store", he said slowly, seeing the face I was making. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness that's all he meant!

"So, do you know how to play any instruments?", he asked. I was not about to answer that, even with a nod, so I just acted as if I didn't hear him, a skill I use often with people. It usually works, and people easily get the point, but apparently not with this guy! "I bet you can play one or more instruments since you work at a music store, and have music class I'm assuming...", he trialed off. I guess he wanted me to nod or something to say if that was true or not, but I don't even know the guy's name! Why would I tell him any of this about me if I don't even know him?

"That friend of yours seems cool", he said changing the subject. "I'm guessing you two have been friends for a while?", he asked. I sighed. How long is this guy going to just follow me around the store like a lost puppy, asking questions that I'm sure he's already figured out I'm never going to answer, and assuming things about my life?

Suddenly, I hear the bell go off, signaling someone just entered the store, and I see Trish running through the doors, panting like crazy. I rushed to her and made a gesture that means 'are you okay?'. See, I don't know sign language, so we kind of had to make up our own language. She just nodded, still trying to catch her breath. "I'm...fine. Just...ran...twelve blocks...know I'm late...sorry...chase...yapping dog", she gasped out between breaths. I gave her a confused look, and she just held up her finger for me to hang on a second for her to catch her breath.

"Sorry Ally, I know I'm late, but my alarm never went off, and on my way here a yapping Chihuahua puppy just started biting at my heels, so I started running, and he chased me all the way here", she said when she finally was able to speak. Ha, a Chihuahua. They're so cute.

**Austin's POV**

A Chihuahua? Since she was late, I had to stand here and make awkward small talk with Ally (which didn't seem too awkward to her because I'm a REALLY good actor). It wasn't too bad because she's really pretty, but she can never answer me. Or maybe she just won't. I mean, I would have all that figured out already from Trish if she hadn't been late. And because of a Chihuahua? Ooh, scary!

Whatever. The important thing is, she's here now. I need to talk to her in private.

"Hey, Trish," I said. I felt kind of bad about interrupting her and Ally's conversation (more or less of a conversation since Ally's not talking), but it doesn't matter because this is important. "Can you show me the price of that guitar again? I forgot it, sorry." She gave me a confused look, so I got worried she wasn't going to understand. But thankfully, after a second, she got it. "Oh! Okay! Follow me," she replied.

We hurried up the stairs to the same beautiful room we were in yesterday, and I temporarily forgot about what I needed to ask Trish. All I could think was "WOW". I just stood there with my mouth open for a minute or so, until Trish snapped me out of it. "So," she started. "I'm guessing you didn't really forget the price?" "No, of course not," I replied. "There's just a few things I need to know." She nodded. "Here," she said. "Let's sit down. I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

After each of us selected a beanbag chair to plop down in, I noticed she looked sort of tense. I decided to lighten the mood. "So, Miss. Trish," I said in my best announcer voice. "Are you ready to start your interview?" She just raised an eyebrow. It was worth a shot.

I got my pocket notebook and pen out and began. "What instruments does Ally play?" I asked. (Yes, I know, I began with an easy one. I'll make my way into the tough questions.) "That's easy," she replied. "Piano and oboe. Next question."

"What things does she like to do?"

"Another easy one. Eat pickles, write songs, and text me," Trish said. She likes to write songs?! Perfect! "Great! That's all I need!" I replied, jumping up out of the beanbag chair. "That's it?" she asked. "Nothing else?" "Nope, not anymore!" I ran towards the door, but before running out, I put up that poster I knocked down yesterday.

**Ally's POV**

I was really confused when Trish and that blond dude (I still don't know his name) ran up to _my_ practice room, just for her to tell him the price of a guitar which he already bought yesterday. Seriously, why do you have to know he price of something you already bought? That boy's nothing but the definition of confusing.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by the blond dude running down the stairs. There's no running in the store! When he gets down stairs, he stops right in front of me. Seriously, what's with this dude!? "Hi Ally", he said. How does he know my-Trish! What did she tell him!?

I just glared at him, and pointed to the 'No running in the store' sign. He looks at it, then turns back around smiling. "My bad. So anyway...", he continued as if nothing just happened. The nerve of that guy! "...I have a proposition for you", he said. I scoffed and returned to my work with him trailing behind me. Like I'm going to do anything for this guy. He's just some random guy who won't leave me alone. Seriously, nobody ever comes_ back_ to the mute girl and tries to talk to her, knowing she won't talk back. Trish only does it because I text her and we were best friends before...before I stopped talking.

"No, seriously. Ally, I want you to be my songwriter", he said. Wait, WHAT!? How on earth does he know I write songs!? Wait...oh, Trish is in so much trouble!

I turned back to the blond guy who had a hopeful look on his face. Is it weird that he kind of looks cute when he does that? Never mind, I can't bethinking that way. "Well...?", he asked, sounding a bit less confident in what I would say. Why does he want my help anyway? He can ask anyone in Miami, but yet he tries to ask the _mute girl_ to be his songwriter. Is he really that stupid, or is he just picking me because he knows I won't ever be any competition to him with my songs since I don't talk?

"Look, this would be great for both of us", he started. I gave him a questioning look. How could this be good for me? "Ally, I'm a singer. I love to perform on stage, dance, sing, do anything that involves music. I can even play a trumpet through another trumpet", he said. It just sounds like he's bragging to me. "Yes, I can do all of that, but I can't write songs to save my life", he said. Well isn't that just too bad for him? He can sing and play any instrument, but he can't write a song. How unfortunate.

"I know you write songs, and I'm pretty sure you won't be sharing them yourself for a while...", he said. I nodded understanding him so far. "...Well you do want them to be shown to the world right?", he asked. I thought about this for a second. Will I ever sing them myself? Doubtful. I'm 99.9% sure that I won't ever sing, let alone talk again. I do wish that my songwriting talents wouldn't go to waste though.

I looked up to him and nodded again. He smiled. "Then it's the perfect solution!", he exclaimed. I just waited for him to continue, once his excitement died down. "We can be partners! I sing your songs. Think about it: I'm a performer with no songs to sing, and you're a songwriter who can't sing your songs. Doesn't it just make sense for us to be partners?", he asked. I looked at him skeptically. Should I accept? I have such a crazy life already. Do I really need this blond goofball bugging me all the time for a new song for him to sing? But then again, I really do want people to hear my songs, and I know I wont be able to sing them myself. This guy really sounds like he wants to sing my songs too, but he hasn't even seen them.

"Ally, I'm fine with any conditions you'd have, and I don't expect you to just write all the time. I'll pay you too. All I need is a songwriter, and I think you really want to show the world your songs", he said. What should I do, what should I do!? See, this is what I try to avoid. I usually don't have these type of decisions to make since I don't talk to people. "What do you say; partners?", he asked sticking his hand out with a hopeful expression. He looks even more hopeful than before! I sighed. I know I'm going to regret this later, but I put my hand in his and shook it, letting him know that I would be his songwriter.

"Yes!", he exclaimed fist-pumping the air. I smiled a little at his excitement. "I know this is going to be awesome! Moving to Miami was a great idea! Now I know there's an awesome mall, a super cool music store, a brand new songwriter, and a cool hang out I'll be sure to stop by every day! This is just great!", he rambled on. Oh, what did I just get myself into?

**What do you guys think? Like it? Please read, review, follow, and favorite! ;P**

**God Bless you all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**We don't own Austin & Ally**

**Austin's POV**

Okay, so I'm really excited that I convinced Ally to be my songwriter; now if I could just get her to talk.

Anyway, That's not what I'm doing right now though. Today's my first day at my new school, and I'm already setting out to do something productive. I asked the school yesterday (on my way from Sonic Boom) if I could post a few adds about my new job. That's right, I got a job. Yes, I want to be a rock-star and I'm doing that with Ally, but I've also decided to be a vocal coach. I want to help kids who want to sing, or maybe they have a speech problem. That's not just a coincidence, by the way. I'm doing this for Ally, even though I do want to help the others who want to sing.

I went around the school, thirty minutes early, and started putting up sign up sheets everywhere. I know Ally won't sign up, but I hope she will kind of sit in sometimes, maybe later.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and turn around to see Ally standing there, looking at me confused. I smiled. I guess she's wondering why I'm at school so early (since I'm not that type) and what I'm doing.

"Hey Ally. Guess what? I'm becoming a vocal coach! I'm going to be helping kids who want to sing!", I said happily. I could see her eyes widen for a second, then she smiled a little as if saying that was great for me.

"Thanks. Do you wanna work on a song tonight at like 5:30?", I asked. She nodded a little. "Great! I'll see you then. If I'm a few minutes late, please don't be mad because today is my first lesson", I said. She nodded again. Sigh. This is going to take a while to get her to talk.

"So what's your first class?", I asked her. She got out her schedule and handed it to me. Yes! We have four classes together!

"Looks like you're stuck with me for like three sevenths of the day", I smirked. She smiled. Am I missing something?

"Um, what 'cha smiling at?", I asked. She rolled her eyes, still smiling, and pointed at the word 'math' on my schedule. I looked at her confused.

"What about math?", I asked. She then pointed to me, and then did her thumb down.

"Okay, so math, me, and thumbs down?", I asked, still confused. She rolled her eyes again and reached for a piece of paper from her backpack.

She wrote, '_You need to learn how to do math because you're horrible at it. It's not three sevenths, it would be four sixths, which reduces down to two thirds'._ I turned back to Ally, and just stared at her I disbelief. Okay, I figured she was smart, but does she seriously have to correct my math? Wait-did she just try to communicate with me? She did! Score!

**Six long hours later**

Ok, so today at school I've found out that four-sixths can also reduce to 75%, which was my score on my vocabulary pre-test. All my classes with Ally were totally awesome, even though she sat at the front of the room with the rest of the smart people while I took my rightful place in the mid-back. I'm loving this new school. There are only two problems I can see. The first is that I have a bottom locker, which means getting the infamous math book dropped on my head day after day. The only other problem I can see is about Ally (and no, not about how she won't talk.) Because she's so small, everyone just runs over her in the hallway! And, of course, SHE DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT! It really got on my nerves today when I saw some rotten football player push her into a locker trying to get to his cheerleader girlfriend. So, today when I was supposed to be taking notes for science class, I came up with a genius idea to help her. But the thing is, I can't find her.

I know she's not a bus rider, so that means she will be waiting for her mom in the parking lot. I've been searching for a whopping five minutes! WHERE IS SHE?

Finally, I find her standing under a large tree, writing in some kind of journal. I walk up to her and try to get her attention, but she's got her head buried in that journal. "Ally... Ally... Hey Ally!" Finally I just decide to tap her on the shoulder. No success. I tap her journal. A little too much success.  
She gets a very fierce look in her eyes, yanks the journal away from my hands, turns to the back, and writes in very large print:  
DON'T TOUCH MY BOOK!

I just laugh it off. "Whatever you say, Als." As she puts her journal in her backpack, I notice a bruise on her arm. "Is that from when that jerk pushed you?" She gave me a look that clearly said, 'YOU SAW THAT?!' "Yes, I saw it. And I came up with a brilliant idea to make it stop." She raised her eyebrows at me and nodded once. I guess that means 'continue'. "So, what if I walked in front of you when you walk to all your classes? So if someone decides to do that again they have to get through Mr. Moon first!" And, of course, I showed the biceps, or as I like to call them, Thing 1 and Thing Awesome. She laughed and smiled really big. "So this means yes," I said, showing her a thumbs up, "and this means no," with a thumbs down. She hesitates for a moment, before giving an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Great!" I said. "See you later!"

And just like that, I became a personal bodyguard.

After school, I started setting up for my first day as a vocal coach, and, to my surprise, Ally agreed to sit in with it! Our lessons were going to be held in that room where I first found out the price of my guitar, and about Ally. Yep, the Employees Only room has been opened up to a vocal lessons room. People started showing up an hour early, but we kept the door locked. When 6:30 finally rolled around, I sat down and let the first person in. It was a young boy wearing a "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt. I was liking this kid already. That is, until he started singing.

Think of the worst sound you could ever hear. Multiply that by ten, and add the tears of a billion children, and BINGO! You have this kid's singing voice.

"Thank you, uh, Elijah," I said after he was finished. "We'll be thinking about it, okay?"

It doesn't need much thinking. I don't think singing is this kid's calling in life.

The next few weren't very good either. I wondered if there was anyone with talent in Miami.

Getting a little frustrated, I called, "Next!"

I thought nobody had heard me, or there just weren't any more people who showed up, but when I looked up I see a kind of short girl with strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes. Man, she came up here quietly.

"Hi, my name's Austin. What's you're name?", I asked. She looked about sixteen, maybe 5'2 or 5'3. Better put, she and Ally are about the same size, and Ally's just plain short. She was wearing a t-shirt that had the Eiffel Tower on it, a pair of skinny jeans, and some white tennis shoes.

The girl mumbled something under her breath, but I could barely hear her at all.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you", I said. I could tell she was talking, but she was almost inaudible. "Okay, you're going to have to speak up. Come on, this is a vocal class! Use you voice! Come on, all you have to do is look up and talk", I said. Ally walked over to me, and handed me a piece of paper. It said, _Don't pressure her too much; she just seems shy. _I stared at the paper in disbelief. Okay, Ally doesn't talk at all, but she says-never mind. I don't have time to debate over this right now.

"Um, can you at least tell me your name?", I asked. The girl nodded shyly and finally looked up.

"M-Melanie Ray", she stuttered, but at least I could hear her this time.

"Okay Melanie, can you sing something for us?", I asked. Her eyes widened in fear, but she nodded while gulping. "Alright, what song?"

"Fifteen by Taylor Swift", she said quietly. I smiled because I love that song, and I could see Ally smile a little too.

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors

It's the morning of your very first day

You say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a while

Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here

For the next four years in this town

Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say

"You know, I haven't seen you around before."

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them And when you're fifteen

Feeling like there's nothing to figure out

Well count to ten, take it in

This is life before you know who you're gonna be

Fifteen

You sit in class next to red-headed Abigail

And soon enough you're best friends

Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool

We'll be out of here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car

And you're feeling like flying

And your mamma's waiting up

And you're thinking he's the one

And you're dancing 'round the room when the night ends, when the night ends

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen and your first kiss makes your head spin around

But in your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team

But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted

Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday

But I realized some bigger dreams of mine

And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind

And we both cried

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall

I've found time can heal most anything

And you just might find who you're supposed to be

I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

La la la la la la la

La la la la la la la

La la la la la la la

Your very first day

You take a deep breath, girl

Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors.

When she finished singing, I just sat there, stunned by how good she was compared to all the others that came in. I don't know why she was so shy coming in here. I'm brought out of my thoughts when I hear the sound of clapping, and I look over to see Ally smiling widely at the girl.

"W-Why are you clapping? T-That was terrible", the girl, Melanie, asked. Wait, what!?

"That was not terrible. You have a great voice", I told her. Ally nodded.

"Really? I thought it was terrible. I don't even know why I came here", she said and started to leave.

"Well I'm glad you came," I said as she was starting to walk out. She stopped suddenly and turned around. "Really?" she asked with a lot of excitement.

"Yeah, you're the best singer I've heard all day! How would you like to come here every Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 pm to have some more vocal lessons?" I asked. Her eyes got so big that I couldn't help but smile. "Great!" she squealed. "See ya then!"

There were a few others once she was gone, but none of them really stood out the way she did. After the final person left, I turned to Ally and said, "That was a long day. You know, the only person who I really want to teach is Melanie." She nodded in agreement. "I think she will be a great performer once she kind of comes out of her shell. So, wanna grab some pickles from the food court?" I asked, remembering Trish telling me that she loves pickles. She nodded very quickly this time. "Great! Last one there is a rotten egg!"

Needless to say, I won.

**Hey guys! So, what'd you all think of this chapter? Sorry we haven't updated in like two weeks, but school's tough, life can be hectic, and we do have other things to do sometimes. Thanks for being patient with us. It means a lot. Please read, review, follow, and favorite.**

**We don't own anything you recognize, including the "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt.**

**God bless you all!**


End file.
